The Last Goodbye

Labeled as a "fusion" of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with the rock music of the late Jeff Buckley, the Old Globe's dazzling but wildly uneven production has yet to fuse the two. The cast, almost to a person, sings better than they can act, and the loud music blurs the lyrics. The show is something to see: director Alex Timbers smartly shoots the eye all over the stage. But the story's been so abridged it even cut the glorious "Queen Mab" speech. Buckley's lyrics don't always jibe with the Bard. But when they do - Jay Armstrong Johnson (Romeo) and Tailisia Friedman (Juliet) singing the title song, Johnson singing "Forget Her," and Hale Appelman (Mercutio), "Eternal Life" - they hit home hard. But as so often happens the music hits them harder.